The UAV is an underrated asset in Conflict of Nations. I'm not going to say that it's a flawless unit - it isn't. Helicopters are more useful than drones, and I'm really stretching their usefulness with that statement. That being said, UAVs do have uses, but I see people using them wrong all the time. Therefore, I thought it only fitting to make a simple guide of do's and don't's to help out the less wise players.
So... when should you use a drone?
Surveillance - Drones don't start wars when patrolling, and are the only aircraft that have this trait. Scratch that, I think it's the only UNIT with that trait. Why? Well, initially a drone is unarmed, making it harmless... kind of. Drones can reveal the exact location and composition of an army at just the first level.
Dirt-cheap - Drones are one of the easiest units to mass produce, next to infantry. While their requirements are slightly higher than that of the average unit, requiring both an air base AND an arms industry (the same as an AS Fighter), it's worth its weight in gold when it comes to costs. A pittance almost equal to HALF of an AS Fighter.
Yeah, you can bomb stuff - But wait! Jester, you said that drones are unarmed!... that may be true, but starting at level 3, UAVs come equipped with bombs and missile capacity. Yeah, you can bomb stuff. In fact, at level 3, you can do 4 damage to armor units, which is a pretty good amount of damage, making drone bombing super effective against armor units... and yet another better alternative to the strike fighter.
Did I mention missiles? - Yes, again, starting at level 3, you gain the ability to carry a missile of any kind. Just a cruise missile, mind you, but a nuclear cruise missile is a deadly cruise missile.
THE RANGE IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE!!! - A level 1 drone has the same range as an Air Sup fighter. Alright, not too shabby... at level 2, that range DOUBLES. Level 3 is even more insane, at a range of 3000 - 4x as much as the Air Superiority Fighter! And it only gets worse: 3000 range, AND you can drop bombs/missiles? Sweet!
If this all sounds a bit too good to be true... there's a catch. When shouldn't you use a drone? Well, all the time. Let's have a look at some of the flaws...
Absolutely abysmal hit points - At level 1, the Drone is quite possibly the weakest unit: you get 2 hitpoints in flight. TWO. Even at level 3, it's only increased by one! Yes, your airborne savior has a measly THREE HITPOINTS!
Pretty weak against infantry - Remember those bombs I mentioned earlier? Yeah, starting out they aren't great against infantry, starting at 2 damage, or roughly the same as an Air Sup fighter. Even at max level, that only ever increases to about 4 points, which still isn't much, considering modern infantry has some air defense to it.
Limited use - One fatal drawback of the UAV is that it's limited entirely to ground combat. You can only ever attack ground units and cities, and that's it. No dogfights, no seaside dive bombing, nothing else: just dropping bombs on ants.
So here's what we can narrow it down to:
Drones are good initially, and if you're broke, but get something else in the future. The range is good, but it can only get you so far.
Never, ever use a drone to try and disable a naval unit. You will lose the drone, and do a grand total sum of nothing.
Don't try to replace helicopters - you can't. Sure, helicopters are a lot more specialized, and while they might not have as much range as a drone, they still do far, far more damage, even from level 1.
If you're going to get drones, commit to it. At a bare minimum, get to level 3. At least then drones have more worth and can function as a strike fighter in a pinch.
As a general rule, never have more than 3 drones in a stack. It's pretty easy to overstack a drone, so don't. Just keep it at 3, so you can do damage, get out of there, and leave your enemy wondering "what the hell just happened?"
Don't put all you missiles towards drones. Drones can carry only 1 missile at a time, and even then, so can Air Superiority Fighters, and at least those can fight off interceptors. Sure, range helps, but it's pretty circumstantial.
Never have only drones. You're going to need every other aircraft eventually, except for the strike fighter, because it's next to worthless. If you really need to gun down a boat, use an ASW or Attack Heli... or better yet, and hear me out here, use a boat.
That being said, always have at least one drone handy. Even if you're not going to use them in combat, the surveillance aspect is incredibly handy. Use that, if not the bombs.
Well, I hope this guide was at all useful, and I hope you all learned something. Have a good day!
So... when should you use a drone?
Surveillance - Drones don't start wars when patrolling, and are the only aircraft that have this trait. Scratch that, I think it's the only UNIT with that trait. Why? Well, initially a drone is unarmed, making it harmless... kind of. Drones can reveal the exact location and composition of an army at just the first level.
Dirt-cheap - Drones are one of the easiest units to mass produce, next to infantry. While their requirements are slightly higher than that of the average unit, requiring both an air base AND an arms industry (the same as an AS Fighter), it's worth its weight in gold when it comes to costs. A pittance almost equal to HALF of an AS Fighter.
Yeah, you can bomb stuff - But wait! Jester, you said that drones are unarmed!... that may be true, but starting at level 3, UAVs come equipped with bombs and missile capacity. Yeah, you can bomb stuff. In fact, at level 3, you can do 4 damage to armor units, which is a pretty good amount of damage, making drone bombing super effective against armor units... and yet another better alternative to the strike fighter.
Did I mention missiles? - Yes, again, starting at level 3, you gain the ability to carry a missile of any kind. Just a cruise missile, mind you, but a nuclear cruise missile is a deadly cruise missile.
THE RANGE IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE!!! - A level 1 drone has the same range as an Air Sup fighter. Alright, not too shabby... at level 2, that range DOUBLES. Level 3 is even more insane, at a range of 3000 - 4x as much as the Air Superiority Fighter! And it only gets worse: 3000 range, AND you can drop bombs/missiles? Sweet!
If this all sounds a bit too good to be true... there's a catch. When shouldn't you use a drone? Well, all the time. Let's have a look at some of the flaws...
Absolutely abysmal hit points - At level 1, the Drone is quite possibly the weakest unit: you get 2 hitpoints in flight. TWO. Even at level 3, it's only increased by one! Yes, your airborne savior has a measly THREE HITPOINTS!
Pretty weak against infantry - Remember those bombs I mentioned earlier? Yeah, starting out they aren't great against infantry, starting at 2 damage, or roughly the same as an Air Sup fighter. Even at max level, that only ever increases to about 4 points, which still isn't much, considering modern infantry has some air defense to it.
Limited use - One fatal drawback of the UAV is that it's limited entirely to ground combat. You can only ever attack ground units and cities, and that's it. No dogfights, no seaside dive bombing, nothing else: just dropping bombs on ants.
So here's what we can narrow it down to:
Drones are good initially, and if you're broke, but get something else in the future. The range is good, but it can only get you so far.
Never, ever use a drone to try and disable a naval unit. You will lose the drone, and do a grand total sum of nothing.
Don't try to replace helicopters - you can't. Sure, helicopters are a lot more specialized, and while they might not have as much range as a drone, they still do far, far more damage, even from level 1.
If you're going to get drones, commit to it. At a bare minimum, get to level 3. At least then drones have more worth and can function as a strike fighter in a pinch.
As a general rule, never have more than 3 drones in a stack. It's pretty easy to overstack a drone, so don't. Just keep it at 3, so you can do damage, get out of there, and leave your enemy wondering "what the hell just happened?"
Don't put all you missiles towards drones. Drones can carry only 1 missile at a time, and even then, so can Air Superiority Fighters, and at least those can fight off interceptors. Sure, range helps, but it's pretty circumstantial.
Never have only drones. You're going to need every other aircraft eventually, except for the strike fighter, because it's next to worthless. If you really need to gun down a boat, use an ASW or Attack Heli... or better yet, and hear me out here, use a boat.
That being said, always have at least one drone handy. Even if you're not going to use them in combat, the surveillance aspect is incredibly handy. Use that, if not the bombs.
Well, I hope this guide was at all useful, and I hope you all learned something. Have a good day!